london - william blake

Question 1

“I wander thro’ each charter’d street, near where the charter’d Thames does flow”

Answer 1

this is a purposeless walk and is describing what they are seeing.

• repetition of “charter’d” which shows confinement within city limits, controlled by people in power.
• river name “Thames” shows nature is also being restricted and oppressed.

Question 2

“and mark in every face I meet marks of weakness, marks of woe.”

Answer 2

everyone is melancholic and in despair.

• determiner “every face” shows no one is capable of escaping from it, shows the damage is done.
• verb “marks” shows it is a stain, can’t be removed.
• repetition “marks of” shows the suffering of the people, harmed by the government which causes a physical and mental damage.

Question 3

“in every cry of every man,
in every infant’s cry of fear,
in every voice, in every ban”

Answer 3

shows that not even the innocences can escape.

*anaphora “in every” shows the lists of how relentless this cycle of repetition is. It also shows the scale and sizes of the people harmed.

Question 4

“the mind-forg’d manacles I hear.”

Answer 4

they are trapped emotionally.

• metaphor shows how they are close minded given that they are losing faith in their lives, causing their mind locked as they refuse to believe they can get better.
• the poem shows the grim reality of living in London.

Question 5

“how the Chimney-Sweeper’s cry every black’ning Church appalls.”

Answer 5

shows the corruption of society.

• the job “Chimney Sweeper” and the noun “cry” shows the exploitation of orphans/ children by forcing them to do dangerous jobs with little pay.
• colour “black’ning” shows the church becoming more corrupted.
• verb “appalls” implies that rather than helping them like they were supposed to, they exploits them and make profit out of them.

Question 6

“the hapless Soldier’s sigh runs in blood down Palace walls.”

Answer 6

not even soldiers who defend the country is being looked after.

• adjective “hapless” shows there is no place for them and being overlooked by the public.
• metaphor perhaps implies that the soldiers are willingly dying for the country yet the country build a wall to isolate themselves from the blood shed from war - not responsible for their health.

Question 7

“how the youthful Harlot’s curse blasts the newborn infant’s tear.”

Answer 7

shows the endless cycle of suffering.

• adjective “youthful” shows the person is full of life but their own choice of income is being a prostitute.
• verb “curse” shows frustrations, and this gives a widen view of the population that their mental state isn’t healthy.
• verb “blasts” implies the baby isn’t being nurtured.
• creates a pathos and shows awareness that they need to be loved or it becomes a cycle of endless suffering.

Question 8

“and blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.”

Answer 8

there is no happiness even till the end.

• noun “blights” shows a diseases that is easily transmitted, highlighting how
  you can’t escaped.
• oxymoron “blights” and “marriage” shows an onmious tone that there isn’t any happy endings even on your happiest days. It is a short lived happiness.

Question 9

CONTEXT

Answer 9

• born and bred in London
• Openly supported the French resolution.
• Lost faith in religion due to the church’s refusal to help the poor, abused and homeless children on the street.
• Have radical political views, he is anti-monarchy.
• A revolution is “inevitable and necessary” for a change.
• reflecting on the society at that time
• hated the misery and darkness of the city
• critical of most institutions that represented power as they are the reasons for problems in society.
• powerful people are corrupted by greed and inequality.
• reality living in London is full of despair, poverty, complexity of humanity.
• Published in the collection “The songs of Innocence and Experience” which shows the damaging and negative effects that modern life have on people.